Container closure

ABSTRACT

A valved closure and dispensing assembly for containers, such as bottles, jars and the like, including a main closure body of relatively hard plastic material and having a neck portion with a closure pin or stopper of reduced cross section fixed centrally at the outer end of the neck opening; and a sliding closure cap member of relatively softer plastic material having a depending skirt externally interfitting and interlocking with the outer surface of the neck portion for limited sliding movement relative thereto and having a central opening through the top clearing the closure pin or stopper for dispensing purposes and snugly receiving the pin or stopper therein for closing the neck opening against dispensing.

Unite States Patent [73] Assignee VCA Corporation (formerly k/a Valve Corporation of America) Greenwich, Conn.

[54] CONTAINER CLOSURE 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. Cl 367d 3/00 [50] Field of Searc 222/521 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,904,739 4/1933 Kroen 222/521 1,975,878 10/1934 Thomson..... 222/521 3,285,479 11/1966 Porter et al.. 222/521 7 3,326,426 7 6/1967 Porteret a1. 222/521 Attorney-Olson, Trexler, Wolters & Bushnell 3,406,880 11/1968 Stull; 222/521 3,194,453 7/1965 Cherba 222/521 FOREIGN PATENTS 831,875 4/1960 Great Britain 222/521 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Woo'd, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Edwin D. Grant ABSTRACT: A valved closure and dispensing assembly for containers, such as bottles, jars and the like, including a main closure body of relatively hard plastic material and having a neck portion with a closure pin or stopper of reduced cross section fixed centrally at the outer end of the neck opening; and a sliding closure cap member of relatively softer plastic materialhaving a depending skirt externally interfitting and interlocking with the outer surface of the neck portion for limited sliding movement relative thereto and having a central opening through the top clearing the closure pin or stopper for dispensing purposes and snugly receiving the pin or stopper therein for closing the neck opening against dispensing.

plastic material, such as CONTAINER CLOSURE The invention is concerned with a combined closure and dispensing cap for mounting on containers for liquid or semiviscous liquid materials and other flowable materials, and particularly for mounting on necked containers where the container neck is provided with external thread formations or the like for interfitting engagement with cooperating formation on the cap.

The cap includes a main closure body of relatively hard polystyrene, and a closure cap member of relatively softer plastic material, such as polyethylene. The closure body includes a dispensing neck portion with an inwardly offset closure pin or stopper at the outer end thereof and providing an egress opening therearound. The closure cap includes a depending skirt portion and a top portion apertured to snugly receive the closure pin or stopper or to clear the same for dispensing purposes. There is an interconnection between the cap skirt' and the closure neck permitting this relative sliding movement between the cap and body.

An object of the invention is to provide mutually interfitting connections between the cap skirt and body neck for permissive relative sliding movement therebetween, with the connections disposed externally of the body neck and internally of the cap skirt. Such an arrangement avoids molding problems encountered where the interfitting connections are disposed internally of the body neck. In such latter arrangements, the main body member must be molded in a relatively complex die having interfitting plunger portions movable within' the body neck with the plungers having interfitting end connections brought into engagement to maintain alignment. In a multicavity mold, there is difficulty in keeping all of the cavities at the same temperature-the outer ones tending to cool more than the inner ones-with the result that misalignment of the parts may occur in some of the cavities resulting, in turn, in breakage of the interfitting end connectionsand other molding problems.

Other objects of the invention are to better maintain the shape and appearance with the main closure body of relatively hard plastic material applied to a container; to provide a relatively strong interlocking connection between the cap and body guarding against inadvertent removal of the cap while facilitating initial assembly thereof with the body, particularly with the interconnection therebetween disposed externally of the body neck, and which latter arrangement improves dispensing flow characteristics by elimination of internal connections tending to impede the dispensing flow or lend turbulence thereto.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the closure and cap assembly applied to a container neck;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side cross section showing the closure and cap assembly threaded to the container neck with the cap in closing position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to position;

FIG. 4 is a side cross section of the cap;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main body member with the cap removed therefrom; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a container 10 with a neck portion 12 on which is externally mounted the main closure body 14 carrying the sliding closure cap 16. With particular reference to FIG. 2 and 3, the container neck portion 12 is provided with external threads 18 to mate with internal threads 20 on the skirt portion 22 of the closure body 10 which includes an inward top closing portion 24 terminating in an upstanding dispensing neck portion 26. The top closing portion 24 is provided with an internal annular bead 25 to engage and seal with the top edge of the body neck FIG. 2 with the cap in dispensing 12. At the upper end of the body neck portion 26, there is an upstanding centrally disposed pin or stopper 28 joined to the inner surface of the neck portion by opposed narrow webs 30 (FIGS. 5 and 6) leaving therebetween egress passages for the material to be disposed from the container. The cap 16 is provided with a top 32 inclined upwardly to a central aperture 34 dimensioned to snugly receive the pin or stopper 28 in the closed position of FIG. 2, thus closing the container against dispensing. The cap 16 further includes a depending skirt portion 36 with external knurling or ribs 38 and slidably interconnected with the external surface of the body neck as described below.

The external surface of the body neck portion 26 is provided near the top thereof with an annular recess 40, the axial length of which determines the extent of sliding movement of the cap. The upper limit is defined by an outward right angled -shoulder surface 42 and the lower limit is defined by a shoulder surface 44. The top surface of the neck portion 26 is inclined downwardly, as at 46, around the outer periphery thereof. Below the shoulder surface 44, there is a smooth vertically extending guiding and sealing surface 48 of a diameter larger than that of the recess 40. The inner surface of the cap skirt portion 36 is provided near the top thereof with an annular rib 50 to slide within the recess 40. The lower end portion of the cap skirt portion 36 is provided with a pair, or more, of vertically spaced annular ribs 52, 54 to tightly engage the guiding and sealing surface 48 on the body neck 26. e

In assembling the cap 16 to the body 14, the cap being of relatively softer and more resilient plastic material than the relatively harder and more rigid plastic material of the body, the cap skirt 36 is telescoped over the body neck 26 and forced downwardly. The inner diameters of the ribs 52, 54 are such as to only slightly engage, or even bypass the outer periphery of the shoulder surface 42 but to snugly engage the outer surface of the guiding and sealing surface 48. During this telescopic assembly, the inwardly and upwardly inclined lower surface 56 of the rib 50 will cam past the inclined surface 46 at the top of the body neck 26 and snap beneath the shoulder 42. With the right angled shoulder surface 42, removal of the cap is difficult and this resistance to removal may be enhanced by making the upper surface of the rib 50 also right angled.

With the assembled cap and body attached to the' container 10, the position of the cap 16 in FIG. 2 receives the pin or stopper 28 snugly with the opening 34 to close the container. When the cap is shifted outwardly to the position of FIG. 3,

v the opening 34 clears the pin 28 to permit the contents of the container to be dispensed through the body neck 26 and the opening 34. During relative sliding movement of the cap 16, it is guided for precise rectilinear movement without canting by the continuous fluid tight engagement of the spaced ribs 52, 54 with the surface 48 throughout such sliding movement between open and closed positions, and during a portion of such movement engagement of the stopper pin 28 with the surface of the opening 34 also has a guiding effect. The relatively hard material of the body 14 maintains its shape and appearance and the guiding of the cap skirt 36 serves to maintain its shape and appearance even though of relatively softer material to facilitate original assembly of the cap and body. The inner surface of the rib 50 need not engage the surface of the recess 40, thus facilitating assembly in being forced past the shoulder incline 46, because sealing against leakage is provided by engagement of the ribs 52, 54 with the surface 48.

Iclaim:

l. A valved closure and dispensing assembly for attachment to the open end of a container, and comprising a closure body of relatively hard plastic material and including a depending attachment skirt interengageable around the open end of the container and an upstanding neck with a reduced valve pin projecting centrally above the neck opening and through which neck opening the container contents may be dispensed, said neck having an external annular recess adjacent the upper end portion thereof with an axial extent defined by upper and lower stop shoulders and an external guiding and sealing sur face therealong below said lower stop shoulder and of greater diameter than that of said recess, and a centrally apertured cap of relatively softer plastic material having a depending skirt portion externally telescoped with said neck, the internal surface of said skirt portion having lower internal annular rib means adjacent the lower end portion thereof and of comparably greater diameter than that of said recess for snugly and slidably engaging said guiding and sealing surface in sealing contact therewith and having upper internal annular rib means to be forced past said upper stop shoulder during assembly of the cap and body and received in said annular recess to confine vertical sliding movement of said cap to the distance between said upper and lower stop shoulders with inward movement of the cap positioning the valve pin within the cap aperture for closing the container against dispensing of the contents thereof and with outward movement of the cap clearing the valve pin from the cap aperture to permit dispensing of the container contents through the cap aperture.

2. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the exposed upper surface of the upper stop shoulder at the top of said neck is inclined downwardly and outwardly for facilitating passage thereby of the upper rib means on the cap skirt during assembly thereof with said body.

3. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper rib means on the cap skirt and the upper stop shoulder on said neck present for mutual engagement at least one surface right angled to the longitudinal axis of the assembly to resist separation of the cap from the body after assembly thereof.

4. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the upper stop shoulder includes the said right angled surface.

5. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower annular rib means on the cap skirt comprises a plurality of vertically spaced annular ribs engaging the guiding and sealing surface throughout the permissive sliding movement of the cap to prevent canting thereof relative to the longitudinal axis of the assembly.

6. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the diameters of said ribs are greater than the diameter of said upper rib means movable in said annular recess.

7. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper rib means on the cap skirt and the upper stop shoulder on said neck present for mutual engagement at least one surface right angled to the longitudinal axis of the assembly to resist separation of the cap from the body after assembly thereof; and wherein the lower annular rib means on the cap skirt comprises a pair of vertically spaced annular ribs engaging the guiding and sealing surface throughout the permissive sliding movement of the cap to prevent canting thereof relative to the longitudinal axis of the assembly with the diameters of said ribs being greater than the diameter of said upper stop shoulder to facilitate telescopic assembly of the cap to the body. 

1. A valved closure and dispensing assembly for attachment to the open end of a container, and comprising a closure body of relatively hard plastic material and including a depending attachment skirt interengageable around the open end of the container and an upstanding neck with a reduced valve pin projecting centrally above the neck opening and through which neck opening the container contents may be dispensed, said neck having an external annular recess adjacent the upper end portion thereof with an axial extent defined by upper and lower stop shoulders and an external guiding and sealing surface therealong below said lower stop shoulder and of greater diameter than that of said recess, and a centrally apertured cap of relatively softer plastic material having a depending skirt portion externally telescoped with said neck, the internal surface of said skirt portion having lower internal annular rib means adjacent the lower end portion thereof and of comparably greater diameter than that of said recess for snugly and slidably engaging said guiding and sealing surface in sealing contact therewith and having upper internal annular rib means to be forced past said upper stop shoulder during assembly of the cap and body and received in said annular recess to confine vertical sliding movement of said cap to the distance between said upper and lower stop shoulders with inward movement of the cap positioning the valve pin within the cap aperture for closing the container against dispensing of the contents thereof and with outward movement of the cap clearing the valve pin from the cap aperture to permit dispensing of the container contents through the cap aperture.
 2. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the exposed upper surface of the upper stop shoulder at the top of said neck is inclined downwardly and outwardly for facilitating passage thereby of the upper rib means on the cap skirt during assembly thereof with said body.
 3. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper rib means on the cap skirt and the upper stop shoulder on said neck present for mutual engagement at least one surface right angled to the longitudinal axis of the assembly to resist separation of the cap from the body after assembly thereof.
 4. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the upper stop shoulder includes the said right angled surface.
 5. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower annular rib means on the cap skirt comprises a plurality of vertically spaced annular ribs engaging the guiding and sealing surface throughout the permissive sliding movement of the cap to prevent canting thereof relative to the longitudinal axis of the assembly.
 6. A valved closure and dispensing assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the diameters of said ribs are greater than the diameter of said upper rib means movable in said annular recess.
 7. A valved closure and dispensing asseMbly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper rib means on the cap skirt and the upper stop shoulder on said neck present for mutual engagement at least one surface right angled to the longitudinal axis of the assembly to resist separation of the cap from the body after assembly thereof; and wherein the lower annular rib means on the cap skirt comprises a pair of vertically spaced annular ribs engaging the guiding and sealing surface throughout the permissive sliding movement of the cap to prevent canting thereof relative to the longitudinal axis of the assembly with the diameters of said ribs being greater than the diameter of said upper stop shoulder to facilitate telescopic assembly of the cap to the body. 